Ring-style cap opener

ABSTRACT

A ring-style cap opener has a ring-shaped sheet metal element including outer peripheral portion and a top portion. A cylindrical portion depends from the center of the top portion. The lower edge of each of the outer peripheral portion and the cylindrical portion are bent toward each other, the lower edge of the outer peripheral portion lying above the edge of the cylindrical portion. The bent lower edge of the outer peripheral portion acts as a fulcrum, and the bent edge of the cylindrical portion engages under the flared edge of the crown cap for removing a cap from the bottle.

H mte States atent 1 l 1 5 Matsumoto 1 1 May 1, 1973 [54] RING-STYLE CAPOPENER FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [75] Inventor: Haruo Matsumoto,Amagasaki, 183,821 3/1923 Great Britain ..8l/3.46 Japan 699,533 1l/l953Great Britain ..8l/3.46

[ Assigneei Matsummo Metal Company Primary Examiner-Robert C. RiordonLimited, Amagasaki-shi, Japan Assistant Examiner-Roscoe V. Parker [22]Filed: Jam 21 1972 Attorney-E. F. Wenderoth et al.

[21] App]. No.: 219,617 [57] ABSTRACT A ring-style cap opener has aring-shaped sheet metal 30 Foreign Application p i Data elementincluding outer peripheral portion and a top portion. A cylindricalportion depends from the center Mar. 10.1971 Japan ..46/l6155 of the topportion The lower edge of h f the outer peripheral portion and thecylindrical portion [52] US. Cl. ..8l/3.46R are bent toward each other,the lower edge of the [51] Int. Cl. ..B67b 7/16 outer peripheral portionlying above the edge of the [58] Field of Search .......81/3.3, 3.34,3.46 R y i l p r i n- The bent lower edge of the outer peripheralportion acts as a fulcrum, and the bent [56] References Cited edge ofthe cylindrical portion engages under the flared edge of the crown capfor removing a cap from UNITED STATES PATENTS the bottle.

2,613,833 10/1952 Williams ..8l/3.46 3 Claims, 5 Drawing FiguresPatenied May 1, 1973 3,730,026

I NVEN'TOR.

RING-STYLE CAP OPENER This invention relates to a cap opener forengaging and removing a crown cap from the mouth of bottles in general,or more particularly to a ring-style cap opener with which a crown capcan be removed by a simple operation without it being necessary to placeit in a specific position against the crown cap.

With a conventional cap opener, it is necessary to place it in aspecific position against a crown cap; and there is a problem of keepingit properly positioned, that is to say, it more often than not goesastray. Further, all conventional cap openers are far from beingshapely.

It is an object of this invention to provide at low cost a novel,improved cap opener which overcomes these structural defects of capopeners of the existing types and is simple to operate.

Another object of the invention is to devise a cap opener with which acrown cap can be removed without it being necessary to apply it in aspecific position against the crown cap, when using it, and which, seenfrom every angle, presents a good appearance.

The main feature of the cap opener according to the present invention isthat it can be mass-produced by a simple method and at low cost,inasmuch as it has a structure in which the lower edge of the outerperiphery of a ring-shaped sheet metal formation is bent inward so as toform the fulcrum edge to bear against the top of a crown cap, while thelower edge of a cylindrical formation depending from the center of saidring-shaped formation, the formations having been formed from a singlepiece of stock, is bent outward so as to form a hook edge to lift thecrown cap.

While the aforesaid objects are accomplished by means of an improvedcombination of the parts whereof the present invention consists, theirembodiment will be further clarified by the accompanying drawings and bythe description in detail which follows.

According to the present invention, a cap opener consists of a fulcrumedge, to bear against the top of a crown cap, which is the lower edge,shaped as desired, of the outer periphery of a ringshaped sheet metalformation consisting of an outer periphery and a top, and a hook edge,to lift the crown cap, which is the lower edge, bent outward, of acylindrical formation depending from the center of the said ring-shapedsheet metal formation. The said fulcrum and hook edges will clutchbetween them a crown cap covering the mouth of a bottle, which will beremoved by lifting the hook edge by hand.

In the accompanying drawings,

FIG. 1 is a plan of a cap opener according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cap opener in use, sectionedvertically at the line AA of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side view, partly sectioned longitudinally, showing amodified embodiment of a cap opener according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view, partly sectioned longitudinally, showing anotherembodiment of a cap opener according to the present invention.

The invention will be better understood from the following descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

An improved cap opener according to the present invention is made up, asaforesaid, of a ring-shaped sheet metal formation 1 consisting of anouter periphery 1,, a top 1 and a cylindrical formation 1 depending fromthe center of top 1 The edge 2 of the outer periphery I, is bentdownwardly while the lower edge 4 of said cylindrical formation 1 isbent outward so as to respectively form a fulcrum edge to bear againstthe top of a crown cap 9 and a hook edge to lift the crown cap.

As is illustrated in FIG. 3, the fulcrum edge 2 of the cap opener isplaced against the top of a crown cap 9 while the hook edge 4 is hookedon to the lower edge of the periphery of said crown cap; the crown capwill be easily removed by lifting the hook edge 4 of the cap opener.

Further, a magnet 5 is inserted into a metallic receptacle 6, which isfitted into the cylindrical formation 1 from the back of the cap opener.This offers a convenient way for storing the cap opener, preventing itfrom going astray, for it may be magnetically hung on an appropriateplace at hand when not in use.

Still further, the top 1 of the ring-shaped sheet metal formation isprovided with a sunk step 7, on which may be fitted, for example, alabel printed with the name of a manufacturing firm for advertisement ora marking plate 8 die-pressed with patterns to improve the appearance ofthe cap opener; or said sunk step 7 may be utilized as a glass stand.

Whereas in the example as shown in FIG. 3 the lower edge 2 of the outerperiphery I, of the ring-shaped sheet metal formation has a simple,straight-down form, in a modified embodiment of the invention asillustrated in FIG. 4 the outer periphery 2 is curved inward so as toform a circular arc, whereby there are afforded, when removing a crowncap, a better grip on the cap opener and surer grasp of the crown cap,thus permitting smoother operation.

In another embodiment of the invention as illustrated in FIG. 5, aninterior sheet metal formation having a shape identical with thering-shaped sheet metal formation according to the example asillustrated in FIG. 3 is covered on the outside with an exterior sheetmetal formation 10 having a larger size and having an identical shape,and the lower edge 2 of the said exterior sheet metal formation is bentinward so as to form a fulcrum edge to bear against the top of a crowncap. This will offer the best in the manufacturing economy.

As is stated above, a cap opener according to this invention does notrequire, unlike conventional cap openers, that it be used at a specificposition, but it can grasp a crown cap between any two points,respectively on the two edges on one radius, thereby permitting a quickand sure operation for removal of a crown cap.

Another aspect of the invention is that the cap opener can be profitablyadapted for mass production at low cost, since the cap openers can bepressed into shape substantially in one process from sheet metal stockstamped out into the prescribed shape, thus affording a high operationalefficiency in manufacture.

Yet another aspect of the invention is that the cap has a beautifulexterioflbeing designed so as to have elegant, flowing curves.

It is to be clearly understood that the scope of the present inventionis not limited to the aforementioned examples, but variations andmodifications to a certain extent shall come within the scope of thisinvention.

curved inwardly.

3. A ring-style cap opener according to claim 1 further comprising anexterior sheet metal formation which is larger in size than and the samein form as the said interior sheet metal formation and covering saidsheet metal formation, the lower edge of the outer periphery of saidexterior sheet metal formation being bent inwardly under said fulcrumedge so as to form the fulcrum to bear against the top of a crown cap.

1. A ring-style cap opener consisting of a ring-shaped sheet metalformation having an outer periphery, a top and a cylindrical formationdepending from the center, the edge of the outer periphery Being bentdownwardly so as to form a fulcrum edge to bear against the top of acrown cap, and the lower edge of said cylindrical formation being bentoutwardly so as to form a hook edge to lift the crown cap.
 2. Aring-style cap opener according to claim 1 wherein the lower edge ofsaid outer periphery is curved inwardly.
 3. A ring-style cap openeraccording to claim 1 further comprising an exterior sheet metalformation which is larger in size than and the same in form as the saidinterior sheet metal formation and covering said sheet metal formation,the lower edge of the outer periphery of said exterior sheet metalformation being bent inwardly under said fulcrum edge so as to form thefulcrum to bear against the top of a crown cap.